Guitars are popular musical instruments and are used commonly by both amateur and professional musicians. The acoustic guitar generally has a hollow body which is connected to a neck. The hollow body includes a backboard and a soundboard. Integrated into a central area of the soundboard is a soundhole. The backboard and soundboard are connected by a shaped sidewall. The neck and body are generally connected together using a structure commonly known as a headblock. The neck terminates at a joint where the neck and headblock come together in a neck-to-body joint.
Guitars have a series of strings strung at substantial tension from a bridge on the soundboard, across the soundhole, and along the neck. Guitars originally made use of low tension strings, first made of gut and later of nylon. Later, steel strings were incorporated into guitars. The use of steel strings dramatically increased the tensile forces, which act on the body and neck of the guitar.
Prior art designs have attempted to improve upon the strength and durability of guitars without adversely affecting playing qualities. Improvements have included bracing patterns on the underside of the soundboard, or neck-to-body joint configurations for strengthening the joint area of a guitar.
Notwithstanding the various improvements, the manufacture of guitars, particularly acoustic guitars which generally use wood materials in construction of the instrument, is subject to a great deal of variability in the completed product. The physical qualities of wood material can vary from piece to piece, and environmental factors such as humidity also play a role on the overall physical characteristics of the various subcomponents which are integrated into a manufactured guitar.
In addition, guitars continue to suffer from a lack of strength and rigidity in certain areas. The soundhole region of the body continues to be of concern. A lack of rigidity and support in certain areas of the guitar contributes to a lower overall integrity of the guitar as well as a decrease in playability and a noticeable change in the overall tone of the instrument.
Thus, a need exists for an apparatus, method of assembly, and method of manufacture of a guitar which increases the physical integrity of the instrument. In addition, a need exists for an apparatus to provide additional structural support and rigidity in the soundhole and body-to-neck regions of a guitar. Finally, a need exists for an apparatus, which does not suffer from inherent variability in the physical characteristics of the apparatus.